The Time That Is Given To Us
by WriterFreak101
Summary: "What we have to decide, is what to do with the time that is given to us." Gandalf. For those of you who need encouragement. Life doesn't make you who you are. It's what you choose to do in the situations life throws at you that determines that.


**AN: This idea came to me on a day when I felt so depressed I wanted to give up. Just wanted to let everything drop and fall to the ground, smashing into a million pieces. **

**But then that same evening, I decided to read a couple of chapters from _The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring._ When I came to the chapter where Gandalf and Frodo Baggins discuss why Frodo has to bear the Ring, I realized how selfish I was. It's amazing what reading the works of Tolkien can do. They get you thinking. Guess that's why he's one of the most influential authors of the 20th Century. **

**This isn't really a fic itself. Perhaps more of an essay of sorts. To help give support to anyone who might be experiencing problems in life just like I am. I debated on where I should put it. So in the end, I decided to post it here. If you feel I should move it, please let me know. **

**I don't own The Lord of the Rings. Proper credit goes to J. R. R. Tolkien. The greatest writer of the 20th Century. And perhaps the greatest writer of all time. **

**The Time That Is Given To Us**

"_I wish the Ring had never come to me_. _I wish none of this had happened_." ~Frodo Baggins

"_So don't many who live to see such times_._ But that is not for them to decide_. _All we have to decide_, is_ what to do with the time that is given to us_." ~Gandalf

Throughout our lifetime there are many incidences where problems breach us. We have little to no control over them. We can't decide what happens to us and what doesn't. We can't control how they enter either. Some are sudden and tragic, and nearly wipe you off your feet. Or they can slink in carefully with light-footed steps. Some come in wisps like fog, and then become thicker and thicker until you are blinded and choking on it, struggling to breathe. And it may get so dark, it seems no light can penetrate it.

In these times of despair and darkness, we have to make decisions. Do you allow the problem to take over your life? Let it take the wheel, and take you down rough and beaten roads? Let it play with you as if you were tied to a rope, tugging this way and that? Or let it drag you through Hell in every possible form of torment that you can imagine? Do you let those problems do it until you are nothing but tattered remains? With scars that show that you are vulnerable, easily overcome? Incapable of taking on another storm if it comes?

Or do you stand up to it? Do you face the problem at hand? Meet it with courage in your heart and your mind set on victory? A sword brandished in one hand, ready to deal out blows when needed? A shield in your other hand, ready to deflect attacks and onslaughts that come your way? Do you choose to accept the problem at the moment and decide to keep going no matter the terrifying scenarios that you may go through? No matter how many enemies there are? No matter how many storms you have to navigate in? No matter how many cuts you receive which will later turn into scars that serve as testimonies to what you have experienced? No matter how long it takes until you are triumphant?

There are some experiences we think that no person should ever have to face. However, the problem is we as man can not determine the situations. Life does that on its own. The only decision that have to make is what we will do in the time that life throws at us.

It seems cruel and unjust. Yet, there is no other option. You can't press a button on a remote or switch that decides what problems you face. That's because it's not for us to decide. Mankind can not control it because we are simply that, mankind. Our minds are tiny, we can only grasp and understand so much. Man can not understand why they experience certain events without having gone through them first. And Man often forgets -or likes to try to forget- that he is not alone. There are other Forces besides him at work. Forces that are both good and evil. They guide us, they watch us, and sometimes if given permission, they work through us. Whether it be for right or wrong.

Some blame the Forces for letting us suffer. Some even blame them for the reasons why they do suffer. It's true, some Forces are the cause of suffering. It's easy to place blame on them. And naturally, man prefers to do the easy thing. I do it, you do it, we all do it. Problem is, the easy way is not always the right or best way. The Good Forces know this, and that's why they stand by. Not because they want us to suffer, but because they want us to make the decision for ourselves. They will standby, ready to help when called upon. But the decisions are up to us. That's because we, Man, have something other creatures don't. We have Free Will. The Gift blessed to us above all other living things. The ability to choose right or wrong without letting instinct being the final say in what we do.

That is why Man has to suffer. So he can choose to cower or brave a situation. So he can choose for himself to do what's right or wrong. And so he may do so because he chose it, not because others directed him to.

Throughout _The Lord of the Rings Trilogy_ we see these themes occur quite often in Frodo Baggins's journey. Frodo could have chosen to give up. He could have said he would go no further, decided not to bear the fate of all of Middle-Earth around his neck anymore. He could have chosen not to brave the perilous journey and destroy the Ring. In the end, that decision would have cost him his life and the lives of countless others who consisted of the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth. The land would have rotted to soot and ash and dust. Fire would have scorched the air, making it toxic to breathe. Thorn bushes would serve as the only evidence that anything ever grew. The journey would have been easy. Yet in the end, in return for choosing the easy path the ultimate price would the ability to be free.

However, Frodo did not give up. Even in the moments where it seemed giving up would have been easiest. He stood fast with the help of his dear friend, Samwise Gamgee. He went to Mount Doom and eventually destroyed the Ring. After getting his skin and hair dirty, attaining countless scars, even getting his finger bitten off. On top of the physical pain, there was tons of emotional and spiritual pain. Countless tears shed as well. In the end everything worked out. Sauron was defeated. Not only defeated, but destroyed. The Peoples would continue to remain free. Good had triumphed over evil.

And in the process of the journey, much suffering had been experienced. That's because all good things that happen to mankind come from suffering. Spring comes when it first faces winter. A caterpillar must be cramped in a chrysalis before it becomes a butterfly. A woman must go through agony before she experiences what it's like to be able to nurture the little bundle of life that she gave birth to. War must be waged and fought before peace can be appreciated.

Sitting and complaining about wrongdoing will do nothing. Moaning about life being unfair won't make it fair. Life is suppose to be unfair, so it can teach us how to be fair. Life must be unjust to teach us the meaning of justice. So doing nothing will be pointless. It's only when you choose to stand on your feet and brave the situation when things will be accomplished. However, you must choose it on your own free will. You have decide whether you will wallow in your grief and remorse, or you can decide to do something about it. To take a stand. To pick up the sword and bridle the horse. To don the armor and clasp the shield. To lace up your boots and start trudging through the thickest mud you can imagine, even if it means falling on your face and getting dirty. To accept the offer the Forces that want to back you up, or to brave it alone.

Life doesn't make you who you are. It's what you choose to do when life throws suffering at you that makes you. The easiest way isn't always the right way. You can't choose the times that are thrown at you, that's not for you to decide. Because as Gandalf said to Frodo: "What we have to decide, is what to do with the time that is given to us."


End file.
